Are you reading this blog from work right now?
Last month we told you about the arraignment of Kentucky Governor Ernie Fletcher. Accused of hiring political supporters for protected state jobs, Fletcher pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor charges of conspiracy, official misconduct, and political discrimination.
Well, Governor Fletcher has recently reappeared in the news by restricting access to blogs from Kentucky's 34,000 state employees.
Administration officials claim that the move is an effort to curb excessive blog-reading in the workplace, and efficiency experts look favorably on the decision. In addition to blogs, other categories of websites have been blocked, including humor and sports pages.
But bloggers charge that the censorship is nothing more than a violation of the free speech of those critical of Fletcher's administration. After Mark Nickolas, owner of the Kentucky-based blog bluegrassreport.org, criticized Fletcher in a New York Times article, 1,000 state employees found that they could no longer access his blog. A constitutional fight looms ahead:
Central to the constitutional case - which Nickolas says he may challenge in court - is the question of whether blogs enjoy the same First Amendment protections as newspapers, which can be read on state computers. Blogs, too, discuss local policy and politics, and bloggers and state employees say they are protected by the First Amendment.
Undoubtedly, we will continue to hear more in the ongoing debate about the role of blogs in our political landscape.
